American Idiot Tix Sales for Opening Week

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 7:18pm

I'll be in the city the same week that AI opens. Today I went to look to purchase tickets and found that they are not selling ANY tickets Tues (slated for opening night) Weds OR Thursday.

I'm assuming they are holding those three performances (Weds Matinees are not scheduled at all) in case they have to delay opening night. So my questions: 1--I don't remember seeing the "hold" on a few nights...have you? and 2 -- anyone care to make an educated guess as to when they might 'lift' the freeze?

I plan on just checking often, but I wanted to get some opinions!

TIA.

[singer73192]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 7:24pm

I was wondering the same thing as I was also looking for tickets during those dates.

[sorano9162]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 7:54pm

Opening night isn't on sale for the public. They may sell tickets later but there's no guarantee. There is no Wednesday evening show; they mentioned it on the Telecharge ticket page. They were selling tickets for the 22nd but it may have sold out.

ETA: proper words helps
Updated On: 2/14/10 at 07:54 PM

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 8:18pm

Thanks for the info. I wonder why they are doing so few shows that week.

[theatreguy]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 8:43pm

So few? They're doing 8.

Monday @ 8 (#1)
Tuesday is Opening Night (#2)
Thursday & Friday at 8 (3# and #4)
Saturday at 2 & 8 (#5 and #6)
Sunday at 2 & 7 (#7 and #

[dramamama611]

Posted: 2/14/10 at 9:39pm

I was looking at the calendar week, so therefore the wrong Sunday....and they don't list Thursday as a show right now. They don't list it as sold out....just not in existence.

Got a ticket for Friday though. Excited.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 2/15/10 at 8:22am

Maybe I am having "Google" probs, but does anyone know when the Box Office opens?

I was hoping yesterday, but the "Finian's" closing notices were still on the theatre doors-

TIA !!!

[frogs_fan85]

Posted: 2/15/10 at 9:36am

I don't think that has been announced/decided yet. Telecharge doesn't have any information, it just says "closed" under box office hours. Also, the article on playbill yesterday announcing the general public on-sale did not mention an opening date for the box office.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 2/15/10 at 10:13am

Thanks, Frogs ! Yep, checked every website, and they all are basically "silent"--- Didnt look like they were remotely close to opening when I went by there yesterday-

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 2/15/10 at 3:07pm

To be fair, but for a sign specifically advising when the box office would be opening, there really isn't something you would be able to see when you walked by the theatre in advance that would give you some indication of how soon the BO is in fact opening. The marquee is now up so that is a step in the right direction, but price scale signs typically don't go up until the day of the BO opening or sometimes late in the week before. So the fact that it "didn't look like they were remotely close to opening" doesn't really mean much. They could have been opening the BO today and it would have looked much the same.

Many may know this already, but at the risk of repetition, the minimum amount of time prior to first preview that the BO opens is actually a union contract-defined standard (Local 751). Some box offices open long before that, but there is a minimum which is based on a calculation involving the number of weeks that the show is on sale by phone/internet prior to first preview (basically, divide by 5, round up and add one).

So "American Idiot"'s first preview is announced for March 24. They went on sale via Amex email I believe on 1/27 (or was it 1/20), so that's eight (or nine) weeks of phone/internet sales before first preview. Divide by 5 and round up = 2 + 1 = 3. Which in theory would mean the BO should open no later than March 1.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 2/15/10 at 9:26pm

<< So the fact that it "didn't look like they were remotely close to opening" doesn't really mean much. They could have been opening the BO today and it would have looked much the same.
>>

Maybe, but it would have looked kind of odd if the "Finian's..." closing notices where still on all the doors, there was no price scale and/or "signage" for "American Idiot" inside, yet the box office was open.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 2/15/10 at 10:46pm

The Finian's sign -- which is only on one door by the way -- is a good point. But as I explained above, the BO signage and price scales often do not go up until the morning of the opening. Sometimes sooner, but not always.

[averagebwaynut]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 11:26am

Follow-up to the above post (with apologies if this has been posted elsewhere):

An advance look at this Sunday's New York Times Arts & Leisure -- which includes an AI ad opposite the ABCs -- reveals that the St. James BO will open this coming Monday 2/22.

And for what it's worth, the ad does a nifty job of shoehorning Tom Kitt's Tony as a composer for "Next to Normal" into AI's pedigree. Mind you, Tom's work on the show (which I believe is predominantly vocal arrangements and augmenting the existing instrumentation with strings) is fantastic and no question the show wouldn't be what it is without him. Still, I found it kinda sneaky -- it's certainly the first time I've seen the person performing the role of musical supervisor, orchestrator and/or Arranger touted so prominently in an ad. But hey, good for Tom I guess! :)

[Upland]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 4:07pm

Just saw the "American Idiot" Times ad you are referring to. While I'm perfectly happy for Tom Kitt to get the shout out, I agree it is kind of misleading.

[Fanb]

Posted: 2/18/10 at 7:27pm

Well I guess that Tony win is good for something...